What are the new developments and changes?, Scholar Roundtable | China Latin America Cooperation China Latin America

On August 5th, the Academic Conference on Latin American Studies in Asia and Oceania was held at the Baoshan Campus of Shanghai University. At the meeting, about a hundred Chinese and foreign scholars had in-depth exchanges on issues such as the political and economic situation in Latin America and China Latin America relations.

The Pink Wave is sweeping across

The attending scholars believe that the current political and economic situation in Latin America presents some new characteristics.

At the political level, a prominent phenomenon is the resurgence of left-wing political forces in Latin America, leading to a new round of "pink waves". At the beginning of this year, with Brazil's left-wing President Lula taking office, Brazil became the eighth left-wing country in Latin America to rule since 2018.

Some scholars believe that in some Latin American countries, left-wing forces only have a slight advantage and are easily constrained by right-wing political forces. The governance dilemma has not improved with the change of political power.

Scholars have also pointed out that left-wing governments often emphasize social justice and citizen welfare in their policies, which brings opportunities and challenges to China Latin America relations - both sides can strengthen cooperation to promote development goals, while also being influenced by ideology and interests.

Secondly, Latin American politics highlights a trend of diversification. Specifically, the democratic system is gradually improving; The scale and scope of political participation continue to expand; The electoral system is becoming increasingly mature; The government system is becoming more stable.

Once again, the integration of Latin America and regional political autonomy have increased. The cooperation of regional structures such as the Latin American Community, the Southern Common Market, and the Pacific Alliance is all being promoted.

Finally, the political stability of the Latin American region has improved in recent years, but on the other hand, emerging political forces are also on the rise. In some countries, emerging small and medium-sized political parties in general elections have even broken the traditional rotating governance of political parties, reflecting the public's call for social change.

On the economic front, Latin American countries have continued to recover in the past year, but due to increased global economic uncertainty and inflation, it is expected that regional economic growth will slow down in the next two years.

The World Bank report shows that in 2022, the gross domestic product and employment of most Latin American countries have returned to pre pandemic levels in 2019. Especially the rise in commodity prices has benefited countries such as Chile, Peru, and Brazil. Meanwhile, strong domestic demand and the recovery of labor-intensive industries also provide impetus for regional economic growth.

However, due to factors such as fluctuations in global commodity prices and rising global interest rates, the economic growth rate in the region may slow down this year. Faced with challenges, Latin American countries should fully leverage their resource advantages, actively participate in global industrial chains, and focus on addressing structural issues such as wealth inequality and economic transformation.

Deepening China Latin America relations

In terms of China Latin America relations, the two sides have experienced international changes and have continuously achieved leapfrog development and high-quality results. They have entered a new era of equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness, and benefiting the people, creating a model of South South cooperation.

Some participants pointed out that there have been new developments and changes in China Latin America relations recently.

At the political level, the head of state's diplomacy serves as a steering direction for the development of China Latin America relations. In 2022, the heads of state between China and Latin America pressed the "restart button" after the epidemic. Especially last year, Cuban President Diaz Carnell visited China and reached a consensus on establishing a community with a shared future between China and Cuba. This is the first community with a shared future between China and Latin American and Caribbean countries.

In the development of China Latin America relations, "equality" is a clear background. China advocates the establishment of a comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and Latin America based on equality, mutual benefit, and common development. In recent years, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras have all recognized the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate government representing China. In international affairs, China and Latin America support each other on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, jointly oppose hegemonism and Cold War thinking, and safeguard the interests of developing countries.

On the economic level, the scale of China Latin America economic and trade continues to expand, breaking the $500 billion mark in 2022 and approaching $240 billion in the first half of this year. In addition to traditional cooperation, China and Latin America are also unleashing cooperation potential in areas such as green energy, electric vehicles, digital economy, and 5G communication. In terms of finance, China's currency swap cooperation with Chile and Brazil has become an important measure to promote the internationalization of the renminbi in South America.

The cooperation in the innovation field between China and Latin America is also commendable. Just last month, China and Venezuela signed a joint statement on cooperation with the International Lunar Research Station. The cooperation between China and Latin America in satellite, polar, deep space, aerospace and other areas is progressing in an orderly manner.

As China is about to hold the "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Summit Forum, China and Latin America will also use this platform to find a starting point for high-quality joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". At present, 22 Latin American countries have joined the the Belt and Road Initiative.

Looking ahead to the future of China Latin America cooperation, participants pointed out that there are both opportunities and challenges for cooperation.

The opportunity is manifested in the recognition of the global security initiative and global development initiative advocated by China by Latin American countries. On this basis, both sides can deepen cooperation and jointly explore a modernization path suitable for their own national conditions. In addition, next year marks significant milestones such as the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, which is also conducive to deepening China Latin America relations. At the same time, Latin American countries have shown a positive willingness to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS mechanism, and will expand their interaction with China.

The challenge is that the United States, which views Latin America as a "backyard", has shifted its initial focus on China's every move in the Latin American region from being increasingly vigilant, and is now moving towards action intervention. The United States is increasingly becoming the biggest disruptive factor in China Latin America cooperation. China should maintain strategic composure, leverage comparative advantages, and push China Latin America cooperation to a new level.